Panicking about lead paint...
Discussion
Hi all,
I was tidying up my outhouse earlier. The building is very old and has clearly been painted inside multiple times over the years.
Got all our stuff out and gave it a good sweep. I also brushed the walls down as they looked very dusty.
Only after doing so did it occur to me that the flaky paint on the walls was probably lead!
All my brushing obviously created a lot of dust and I was exposed to it (no mask, obviously) for 15 mins or so.
I'm now freaking out about it. Does anyone know much about lead poisoning, and what should I do? Visit the GP? Get a test, etc?
Cheers all.
I was tidying up my outhouse earlier. The building is very old and has clearly been painted inside multiple times over the years.
Got all our stuff out and gave it a good sweep. I also brushed the walls down as they looked very dusty.
Only after doing so did it occur to me that the flaky paint on the walls was probably lead!
All my brushing obviously created a lot of dust and I was exposed to it (no mask, obviously) for 15 mins or so.
I'm now freaking out about it. Does anyone know much about lead poisoning, and what should I do? Visit the GP? Get a test, etc?
Cheers all.
Edited by Rusty_ on Sunday 29th September 17:00
Edited by Rusty_ on Sunday 29th September 17:00
Snow and Rocks said:
If a quick sweep down of a room containing lead paint was enough to cause major issues, there would be a lot of people keeling over all over the land and there really isn't.
Nothing you can do about it now in any case so don't worry, you'll be fine (probably!).
Don't tell him if he is in an old house the main water pipe could be lead as well, drinking water from a lead pipe, oh dear.Nothing you can do about it now in any case so don't worry, you'll be fine (probably!).
On a serious point, I knew a plumber who did all the lead work on jobs all his life, Lead Bob was his name, at snap time he would eat his sandwiches with his had in the sandwich bag like a glove so his fingers didn't touch the bread, cancer still got him from working with lead all of his life, fumes I think was the cause. But that is someone working with it 30-40 years not just looking at it for a minute.
i doubt it would have been lead paint on the walls. That was used on woodwork and exteriorers mainley, unless your house was oilpainted inside on the walls. Distemper was used for walls and ceilings until the middle of the 1960,s then emulsion took over ,more concern would be early artex with asbestos in it.
Cheers. It is an outbuilding with painted interior walls. Basically just a brick built shed that would have been used as a toilet back in the day.
Those walls have had a fair few coats over the years!
Although looking at it again, it's deteriorated and faded paint, but not too bad on the flaking side.
I would buy a test, but I don't think I want to know. Just hoping that short term potential exposure wont turn me into the elephant man!
Those walls have had a fair few coats over the years!
Although looking at it again, it's deteriorated and faded paint, but not too bad on the flaking side.
I would buy a test, but I don't think I want to know. Just hoping that short term potential exposure wont turn me into the elephant man!
Rusty_ said:
Hi all,
Thank you for your responses. It's been a few days and I'm not yet a drooling vegetable. I dont think.
I'm going to be a brave boy and get it painted, just in case.
Would it be sufficient to slap some masonry paint straight over it? And could anyone recommend a mask?
Cheers
I'm not sure if it's correct but I have similar in the garage. I'm painting with peel stop and then covering in another layer or two of paint. Thank you for your responses. It's been a few days and I'm not yet a drooling vegetable. I dont think.
I'm going to be a brave boy and get it painted, just in case.
Would it be sufficient to slap some masonry paint straight over it? And could anyone recommend a mask?
Cheers
We have lead paint in all our woodwork/gloss and I try fairly hard to keep in contained when redecorating, including mainly scraping the top poorly adhered layer off and then giving a light sand just for key rather than going down to the underlying paint. Fill any low spots rather than sanding down to them etc.
But as said, while it's to be taken seriously, the exposure you describe feels unlike to cause major issues.
You do very slowly remove lead from your body I understand, including through your finger nails!
But as said, while it's to be taken seriously, the exposure you describe feels unlike to cause major issues.
You do very slowly remove lead from your body I understand, including through your finger nails!
Romans used to add lead to wine and other foods, because certain compounds of it are good sweeteners. Until relatively recently, most water pipes were made of lead. Lead powders were used in make-up, to be smeared straight on the face. Lead is used for fishing weights and handled regularly, despite being a soft metal that wears down with contact. Lead was used in solder until fairly recently, to be melted just a few inches from where the user is breathing in any vapours. Lead was added to petrol for about 80 years, and pumped out the exhausts in large quantites into the air we all breathed. Lead is still used on roofs today, folded down and then welded together in sheets to form complex and long-lasting waterproof joints.
Do any of these things for long enough, and you will suffer consequences. Clearing muck and a bit of loose paint out of an old shed is a very long way from that. So chill out - you aren't going to die, nor are you going to suffer terrible nervous system or brain damage.
Do any of these things for long enough, and you will suffer consequences. Clearing muck and a bit of loose paint out of an old shed is a very long way from that. So chill out - you aren't going to die, nor are you going to suffer terrible nervous system or brain damage.
mikey_b said:
Romans used to add lead to wine and other foods, because certain compounds of it are good sweeteners. Until relatively recently, most water pipes were made of lead. Lead powders were used in make-up, to be smeared straight on the face. Lead is used for fishing weights and handled regularly, despite being a soft metal that wears down with contact. Lead was used in solder until fairly recently, to be melted just a few inches from where the user is breathing in any vapours. Lead was added to petrol for about 80 years, and pumped out the exhausts in large quantites into the air we all breathed. Lead is still used on roofs today, folded down and then welded together in sheets to form complex and long-lasting waterproof joints.
Do any of these things for long enough, and you will suffer consequences. Clearing muck and a bit of loose paint out of an old shed is a very long way from that. So chill out - you aren't going to die, nor are you going to suffer terrible nervous system or brain damage.
Voice of reason. Lead is a cumulative poison, like mercury, not something that will kill you from a single sniff.Do any of these things for long enough, and you will suffer consequences. Clearing muck and a bit of loose paint out of an old shed is a very long way from that. So chill out - you aren't going to die, nor are you going to suffer terrible nervous system or brain damage.
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